An Unusual Gift
by AgentFraniJones
Summary: A package arrives on Tim's desk, causing Tony and Ziva to learn what McGee's high school life was like. One-Shot, contains OCs.


**A/N: This came to me around Christmas. Hopefully this will get rid of the writer's block I have for La Mia Sorellina. I have taken some creative license with what we know about Tim's past but hopefully you still like it. ENJOY! (NCIS is not mine however, I own seasons 1-7 on DVD, the 2013 calender and the NCIS hoodie, which is good enough for me)**

**An Unusual Gift**

Tony DiNozzo wasn't nosey, he was… curious. So when there was a small package on McGee's desk that had arrived with the morning mail he couldn't help going over and investigating. It was addressed to "Agent Tim McGee" and in the corner was scribbled "you could have told me"; what ever that meant. Tony picked up the package and tipped it from side to side. The contents hit the sides with a thud.

"Tony, what are you doing?"

Tony quickly dropped the package as Tim entered the bullpen. "Well, you see…"

"I know what I see Tony. I wish you'd stop going through everyone's mail," Tim complained as he dropped his backpack beside his desk.

"Oh c'mon McComplainer, I was just curious."

"Yeah, whatever Tony"

Tony went back to his desk, leaving McGee to open the package. He cut open the sticky tape using his knife and opened up the flaps of the box. Inside was a letter and about fifteen CDs. Tim opened the letter and began to read. As soon as he began reading he knew who it was from.

_Hey Timmo,  
Do you know how long it took for me to find an address to send this to? You're bloody hard to find my friend. I ended up ringing some guy at FLETC to see if they knew what agency you went tot. So if you're reading this, I guess you're still at NCIS. What happened to that job offer at the Pentagon?_ _Or that company that your Bio-medical Engineering Professor recommended? Oh well, you always said you wanted to be a fed. _

_So how long has it been since we've spoken? Twelve years? I know I haven't seen you since you left MIT. So what's been happening? Last time we spoke you'd gotten your B.S at John Hopkins and you were off to FLETC. Are you and your old man still at each other's throats? I suppose you wanna know what I've been up to (you never did like a conversation to be centered on you). Well after we graduated MIT I went off to get my PhD in Psychology at Yale. Now I'm an independent researcher working on the beneficial relationships between adolescence and technology. It's a lot more complicated than that but you get the idea. I'm working at Morgan State University in Baltimore at the moment. You should come and visit._

_Anyway, the purpose of this letter and package is quite simple. Remember that video camera we had throughout high school and MIT? I found it! It was in a box of stuff from our days at MIT that I had never opened once I packed it up. It still had all of our little "adventures" on it. I found the best ones and burnt them on CDs for you. There are two on each CD so I think there are thirty all together. Enjoy watching them._

_I miss having you around (yeah I know, I'm such a girl as you always liked to tell me). My cell number and address are at the bottom. Come and visit okay? We have a lot of catching up to do._

_See you around Timmo, and remember geeks rule!  
From Jamie (A.K.A Dr. James Costa)_

Tim chuckled quietly and looked in the box again. The top CD was labelled "Tim pranks the quarterback" and "Jamie and Tim hacking for the first time". Both titles brought memories flooding back.

"What are you doing McGee?"

Tim looked up to see Ziva arrive, looking at him curiously.

"A friend of mine from high school and MIT send me some videos we filmed together," he explained.

"McGeek as a teenager? This is something I definitely want to see," Tony said, heading over to Tim's desk, grabbing the letter and reading it. "This is going to be interesting."

McGee sighed and put the top CD into the disk drive of his computer. The media player opened and immediately the video started playing. A teenage Tim McGee was standing in front of a couple of lockers. He was quite tall and didn't seem to be as awkward and gangly as Tony thought he would be. Like every teenager, his skin wasn't the model of perfection however whatever acne problem McGee told Tony about seemed to be over.

"_I can't believe you're making me do this," Tim told Jamie._

"_Oh don't wimp out now Tim, this is going to be great," Jamie replied, holding the camera in one hand._

"_Just remind me why you couldn't be doing this?" Tim asked, turning to one of the lockers and unlocking it._

"_Two reasons. One, I stole the master key for the lock. Two, you're better at computers than I am."_

"_No I'm not"_

"_Don't feed me that crap, I bet when we go to MIT you beat me in every exam."_

"_Jamie, we're juniors. We haven't even applied for MIT yet. And as if my dad will let me."_

"_Don't worry about you're dad. If worst comes to worst we can get Commander Richards to order your dad to let you go to MIT."_

"_I don't think Commander Richards can do that."_

"_He can try. Commander Richards likes us and he's our dads' CO."_

_Tim laughed and kept his back to the camera. While the two boys had been talking Tim had been setting up something in the locker they had broken into. After a couple of seconds Tim closed the locker and turned around. _

"_It's done"_

"What did you do?" Tony asked Tim, keeping his eyes on the screen.

"You'll see"

_The camera moved, looking from one side of the corridor to the other. It was empty but the sound of voices and footsteps could be heard. _

"_They're coming!" Jamie exclaimed. The boys hid, but the camera still had a clear view of the locker. A group of older boys appeared, clearly all football players. One of them opened the locker. Everything seemed to be normal until the door started opening and closing rapidly, hitting the teenager on the head. The other football players started laughing and by the way the camera was shaking so were Tim and Jamie. _

The video ended. Tony and Ziva looked at Tim in slight shock; they hadn't been expecting anything like that. "What?" Tim asked.

"How'd you do that?" Tony asked.

"It was easy, I just attached a motor and switch to the door frame of the locker. Once I pressed the switch in my hand the locker would start to open and close."

"Didn't you get in trouble?" Ziva asked.

"The teachers knew there were only two kids in the whole High School that could do that. We never got in trouble though. Maybe they thought Luke Daniels deserved it."

"How many footballers did you prank?"

"That was the first and last time. Luke must have spread the word. We never got any trouble from the jocks after that. You can watch some of the others if you want; I have a phone call to make."

Tim left Tony and Ziva at his desk and pulled out his phone, typing in the number from the letter.

"_Dr James Costa"_

"Jamie, it's Tim"

"TIMMO!"

"There's no need to burst my eardrums"

"Oh stop being sensitive Tim. Wow, I didn't expect to actually here from you"

"Well you're package found me. It found my teammates as well. I think they're still in shock from the prank we played when we were juniors."

"Ah, good times. Sometimes I miss good old Alameda, but you know, then I remember my parents are still there."

"How is Rear Admiral Costa?"

"Oh you know, still ordering me around like I still live with him. He called me the other day to tell me that I should be more like my brother and provide my mother with grandchildren! I'm not a bloody woman!"

"Don't you have two nieces and a nephew?"

"Exactly! Why does my mother need more? I will never understand her. So how's Admiral McGee?"

"Penny made me call him. I hadn't spoken to him for seven years"

"Aww, dammit. I wanted you to say you'd done a whole decade"

"It hasn't made much of a difference. I only speak to him if I have to."

"Good for you Tim, you're better off without him. Where is he at the moment?"

"I think he's teaching at Annapolis. Not going to check though."

"That's my man! Now, are you coming to visit good old Jamie?"

"Not if you refer to yourself in the third person."

"Please Timmo? With sugar on top?"

"What are you? Five? Next time I get a day off I'll be driving up to Baltimore, I promise."

"It'll be nice to see you again."

"You too. I have to go now otherwise my co workers will be showing our videos to the whole building!"

"Bye Tim"

"Bye James"

With a smile on his face Tim walked back over to Tony and Ziva. He looked over their shoulders and watched what they were watching. Tim and Jamie had set up their camera on the desk in Tim's room, angled towards the computer. They were hacking into the next door neighbour's computer and changing all of her settings. The screen turned black once the DVD had finished.

"You and Jamie were very close," Ziva observed.

"Our Dads met as Petty Officers. They were assigned to different ships and when they finally met up again they introduced us to each other. It was probably the only good thing they ever did for us," Tim mused. "Anyway, we stuck together in high school. Jamie's actually a year older than me but he moved up a grade and I started school early and moved up a grade so we ended up in the same year level. Then we got accepted into MIT, became roommates and only called home to talk to our siblings. After MIT we went separate ways. Haven't seen him since."

"So when are we going to meet the other half of this McGeek duo?" Tony asked.

Tim smirked. "I dunno. But it will be very interesting when you meet him. Very interesting indeed."

**I'm not proud of this, it's a bit weird. Still, please review and let me know what you think. Also, I have a sequel in mind (the team meeting Jamie or something similar) let me know if you want one. Goodly-Bye-Byes Hipcats  
****Frani xx**


End file.
